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NORTH AMERICAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT: A economic, international trade treaty between the three nations that occupy the North American continent -- Canada, Mexico, and the United States -- that was launch in 1994. The North American Free Trade Agreement, commonly termed NAFTA, is designed to eliminate assorted trade barriers between Canada, Mexico, and the United States, including the reduction or elimination of many tariffs and nontariff barriers. While economic theory clearly indicates efficiency is enhanced by the reduction and elimination trade restrictions, NAFTA has been strongly opposed by those potentially harmed by more efficient trade, especially labor unions. However, NAFTA is merely one of several international trade agreements created over the years to reduce trade restrictions. Others include the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the Maastricht Treaty.
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                           WHOLESALE PRICE INDEX: An index of the prices paid by retail stores for the products they ultimately resell to consumers. The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) was the forerunner of the modern Producer Price Index (PPI) and was discontinued in 1978. Other noted price indexes used to track economic activity are the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the GDP price deflator. The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) was first published in 1902, and was one of the more important economic indicators available to policy makers until it was replaced by the PPI in 1978. The change to Producer Price Index in 1978 reflected, as much as a name change, a change in focus of this index away from the limited wholesaler-to-retailer transaction to encompass all stages of production. While the WPI is no longer available, the family of producer price indexes provides a close counterpart in what is labeled the Finished Goods Price Index.The importance of the WPI rested with its ability to forewarn later changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and inflation. The WPI's forecasting ability rested with the simply input-output relation for retail stores. In other words, the prices PAID BY retail stores for their inputs are largely passed along as prices CHARGED TO consumers buying these goods as outputs. An increase in the WPI resulting from higher input prices this month, is likely reflected in an increase in the CPI in future months. This forecasting ability was frequently useful for stabilization policies. Suppose, for example, that the Chairman of the Federal Reserve System wanted to prevent inflation. Even though the CPI and GDP price deflator were relatively stable, an increase in the WPI would have prompted the Chairman to initiate contractionary monetary policy, making a pre-emptive strike against inflation.
Recommended Citation:WHOLESALE PRICE INDEX, AmosWEB Encyclonomic WEB*pedia, http://www.AmosWEB.com, AmosWEB LLC, 2000-2025. [Accessed: December 12, 2025].
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BROWN PRAGMATOX
[What's This?]
Today, you are likely to spend a great deal of time at the confiscated property police auction looking to buy either a computer that can play video games and burn DVDs or a black duffle bag with velcro closures. Be on the lookout for slightly overweight pizza delivery guys.
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A half gallon milk jug holds about $50 in pennies.
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"Defeat is simply a signal to press onward." -- Helen Keller, lecturer, author
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OAS
Organization of American States
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